According to a report in the Swazi Observer on Friday (27 February 2009), ‘Men who were interviewed during the making of the State of the Swaziland Population report said they “salivate” over children wearing skimpy dress codes because they are sexually starved in their homes.’

It goes on, ‘They (men) argued that men have turned into “cannibals” – they salivate over young girls, and as such now sexually abuse orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC). They, however, turned the blame on their wives whom they accused of refusing them sexual intercourse.’

The State of the Swaziland Population report goes on to say that Swazi men also blame ‘modernisation’ for giving women and girls the idea that they do not need to obey their menfolk.

The report states, ‘They blamed the current generation of children for their inquisitorial minds, saying they always ask why? and why not? They were not content with counselling words from adults. They concluded that these were the negative impacts of education on behaviour.’

The report doesn’t actually tell us why the men who are ‘starved of sex’ by their wives then rape children. This is of course because there is no causal relationship between sex within marriage and child rape. It is simply rape.

A big problem is that adults in Swaziland just do not respect children. Only last week I reported that at least 100 school teachers had been accused of having sex with their pupils and that young girls were being forced into ‘marriages’ against their will.

The biggest abusers are the girls’ own families. According to a UNICEF report published in 2008, 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victim.

According to the Weekend Observer,sexual abuse remains hidden as it becomes a family secret.

The report states that as poverty remains a major challenge in Swaziland, many victims depend on perpetrators of violence for support.

Often, the perpetrator uses his/her status as the sole breadwinner to intimidate a child or coerce her into staying silent. Children often remain silent for fear of retribution not only from the perpetrators, but from family members as well.

Some children do not report cases of violence because they are not aware that they are being abused, states the report.